Chili: Discuss

[Leadgolem]

I mean this as a serious question, for those of you that insist that chili should have beans in it, have you ever had a killer bowl of red terlingua-style chili?

As someone who can't fathom preferring bean-stew over chili (note that I'm saying preferring, I will still eat it with beans but I won't make it), I'm just wondering if people are saying beans out of tradition, culture, region, or actual informed preference?

I'm just thinking that even in my semi-southern region, only a few rare places actually serve real chili here, so I'm wondering if people just don't have the opportunity to try traditional chili con carne very often.

I do think an all meat chili has a superior flavor. When you don't short cut any of the process.

In my opinion, there are two problems with an all meat chili. First, people have a tendency to take the high meat content as an excuse to either skip browning the meat, seasoning well, or allowing the time you really need for the flavors to meld. Skip any of those, and you will have a mediocre chili at best. lots of meat or not.

Secondly, it costs to much. Making a whole pot of basically cooked meat is expensive, and in my opinion, not worth the difference in price from a pot of chili with beans. Especially when you have bones to cook in with the chili. They can provide a lot of flavor to, relatively, flavorless beans. Given the time to do so anyway.

Happy cooking!

 

[mtnagel]

No one has mentioned White chili?
1lb Great Northern beans
1 - med onion
3 - cloves of garlic
2 - 4oz cans of green chilies
2 - tsp ground cumin
1 - tbsp. oragano
1 1/2 - tsp cayenne
salt
2lb boneless chicken breast/ chunked
1/2 can chicken broth
1 cup water

brown chicken breast
Toss everything into crock pot on low/med before leaving for work.

Southwest - no beans
Southeast - beans but over rice
Anywhere the high for the day is below freezing- BEANS and cooked all day in the crock pot.

I made this today. I added diced celery and orange pepper and fresh cilantro. Also made it in a pot and simmered for ~1 hour. Turned out great. I haven't had a white chili in awhile. So glad I saw this.

 

[kaconga]

Because of this thread I ended up making an overnight crockpot chili (with beans) and Alton Brown's pressure cooker chili with beef stew meat.

I just had the latter. Man, that was tasty. The chipotle and adobe sauce and browned steak gave it a smokey flavor. Thick... could be served on rice. But, I miss the beans.

My "standard" recipe (my wife's actually, who is out of town at the moment) is simmering away at this moment.

I add beans to the pressure cooker chili. One can of red kidney and one can of black. Rinse them well and add them in at the end of cooking. I don't use a pressure cooker though. Just my trusty dutch oven and cook it a bit longer.

 

[thatjonguy]

Anyone got a pot of chili going today? Too hot up here at 93F.

 

[passedpawn]

I do think an all meat chili has a superior flavor. When you don't short cut any of the process.

In my opinion, there are two problems with an all meat chili. First, people have a tendency to take the high meat content as an excuse to either skip browning the meat, seasoning well, or allowing the time you really need for the flavors to meld. Skip any of those, and you will have a mediocre chili at best. lots of meat or not.

Secondly, it costs to much. Making a whole pot of basically cooked meat is expensive, and in my opinion, not worth the difference in price from a pot of chili with beans. Especially when you have bones to cook in with the chili. They can provide a lot of flavor to, relatively, flavorless beans. Given the time to do so anyway.

Happy cooking!

Browning meat for the Cowboy Chili! Put some chipotle in there, too, and the adobe sauce. It was spicy.

 

[passedpawn]

This chili was so good. It's not as thick as the cowboy chili, but it is my favorite. With beans!

 

[DrunkleJon]

Now that thar looks darn delicious.

 

[Barnesie]

Please describe this "Terlingua style" chili (other than sans beans), I'm curious as to the flavour(s) & contents...
I've never heard of it before.
Regards, GF.

Way late to respond, but "Terlingua Style" is probably just shorthand for the modern interpretation of traditional chile con carne as prepared for competition. Terlingua, Texas is the location of the first major Chili competition and origin of the no beans/no pasta rules.

Sometimes a chili will be listed as Texas style, or Texas Red or even "bowl of red", generally this is a bowl of Terlingua Style competition chili.

The hallmarks are cubed meat, carefully browned in batches, suet or other fat source, several timed dumps of chili powder or chili paste made from dried chilies, onions and tomatoes (or neither) added to the taste of the cook, heavy doases of cumin and mexican oregano tea.

I personally no longer use tomatoes at all in my recipe, and I've leaned towards a combination of chili-grind beef and cubed for variety in texture. The resulting dish is very savory, tons of umami, earthy flavors along with a smokey and round heat that lingers and warms rather then sharply attacking your senses. Preparing it is a ritual, not unlike making beer, so some of the enjoyment is the long process itself.

Indeed it can be an expensive dish when looking at the meat costs, but I buy large cuts and break down myself to save money - and also I try and remember when I'm making 10 lbs of chili, I'm really making somewhere on the order of 20 individual meals or more, so I try to think of the cost per mouth fed rather then the cost of the whole dish.


Also - the Wings, they were decent, not my best ever in terms of crispness, but the flavor was there. We ate all of them before I remembered to try and get a picture. I'll try better next time.

 

[Barnesie]

I would also be remiss in mentioning one of my favorite ways to eat this chili, a variation on the frito pie I encountered somewhere in florida. They were calling it a “boardwalker”.

Take a snack bag of fritos, cut the top off, dump a ladle of chili in, top your choice or garnish (cheese (or even velveeta), raw white onions, and sour cream are a personal favorite) stick a fork in the bag and go to town.

It's not upper crust dining, but it has its place.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I crock potted a bunch of fresh tomatoes, added leftover taco meat, cranberry beans and their soakwater, 2 beef bullion cubes, lots of chili powder and cumin, 2 fresh jalapenos.

Turned out really dark and yummy, several ingredients very darkly caramelized but not burnt. You can stand a knife up in it. DELICIOUS!

 

[Leadgolem]

I would also be remiss in mentioning one of my favorite ways to eat this chili, a variation on the frito pie I encountered somewhere in florida. They were calling it a “boardwalker”.

Take a snack bag of fritos, cut the top off, dump a ladle of chili in, top your choice or garnish (cheese (or even velveeta), raw white onions, and sour cream are a personal favorite) stick a fork in the bag and go to town.

It's not upper crust dining, but it has its place.

That sounds like a delicious perversion of both chili and fritos..... I must try this now.

 

[JeepDiver]

That sounds like a delicious perversion of both chili and fritos..... I must try this now.

Standard fair most ball parks in the south, esp spring and fall

 

[Leadgolem]

Standard fair most ball parks in the south, esp spring and fall

Hmm, nice. I grew up in Washington state. The farthest south I've been is Denver, where I live now.

 

[Barnesie]

You can try an extremely lowbrow version of this at 7-11 for under $2.

Buy a small bag of fritos and a hot dog, when you go to fix up your hot dog, fill the frito bag with that chili topping and velveeta from the pump. Eat the hot dog as an appetizer.

Kinda gross. Kinda good.

 

[cheezydemon3]

You can try an extremely lowbrow version of this at 7-11 for under $2.

Buy a small bag of fritos and a hot dog, when you go to fix up your hot dog, fill the frito bag with that chili topping and velveeta from the pump. Eat the hot dog as an appetizer.

Kinda gross. Kinda good.

Lol. I can see it being good. I would pay for a hotdog and not even get one.

For some reason that reminds me of my "Fill up your container with things that weigh very little at the Kroger Salad bar" trick. (you pay by weight)

 

[headbanger]

Lol. I can see it being good. I would pay for a hotdog and not even get one.

For some reason that reminds me of my "Fill up your container with things that weigh very little at the Kroger Salad bar" trick. (you pay by weight)

I used to work with a guy that was always on a diet, every day he would go to Kroger and "hit the salad bar" for lunch. One day I decided to go with him, that's the first and last time I ever witnessed someone construct and devour what had to be a 10,000 calorie salad.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I used to work with a guy that was always on a diet, every day he would go to Kroger and "hit the salad bar" for lunch. One day I decided to go with him, that's the first and last time I ever witnessed someone construct and devour what had to be a 10,000 calorie salad.

Lol. After you coat lettuce with ranch dressing, bacon bits, shredded cheddar, etc. It ceases to be healthy

I bought a bottle of dressing and got things that weighed little and got by fairly cheap and somewhat healthy.

 

[Melana]

How did the delicious chili thread turn into a healthy salad? It's almost mocking me as i eat my lunch!

 

[DromJohn]

"No beans about it."
Viva Terlingua!

 

[cheezydemon3]

OK, I de-railed, so I'll bring it back around....


NO pic,sorry!

Had my chili, nuked, over tortilla chips with cheddar sour cream and fresh picked jalapenos.

 

[Melana]

OK, I de-railed, so I'll bring it back around....

NO pic,sorry!

Had my chili, nuked, over tortilla chips with cheddar sour cream and fresh picked jalapenos.

It was the boob train, wasn't it?

 

[ChefRex]

OK, I de-railed, so I'll bring it back around....


NO pic,sorry!

Had my chili, nuked, over tortilla chips with cheddar sour cream and fresh picked jalapenos.

Reminder to me, pick a peck jalapenos and pickle them, it's been a great year for peppers.

 

[cheezydemon3]

It was the boob train, wasn't it?

Wait, WHAT????? lol.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Wait, WHAT????? lol.

Poor cheezy, missed out on the boob train.

 

[Melana]

Reminder to me, pick a peck jalapenos and pickle them, it's been a great year for peppers.

pick a peck of pickled peppers?

 

[drchris83]

Please educate me about the boob train. Sounds like the perfect third hobby between cooking and brewing.

 

[ChefRex]

Peppers in a jar!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Bring on the boob train. My life is uninformed in such matters. Bring it!

 

[WesleyS]

Bring on the boob train. My life is uninformed in such matters. Bring it!

( . Y . ) ( . Y . ) ( . Y . )

There you go.

 

[Rockn_M]

( . Y . ) ( . Y . ) ( . Y . )

There you go. : D

Nice!

 

[Swarley88]

Niiiice.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Peppers in a jar!

Is that a simple pickle or something I should ask more in depth questions about

 

[ChefRex]

Just a simple fridge pickle.

 

[Leadgolem]

Just a simple fridge pickle.

That's cold.

 

[passedpawn]

Steve Miller's Number 5 is one of my favorite albums ever.

Eating Hot Chili. It's not silly. Woah.

 

[thatjonguy]

This thread is lacking...I need another recipe to try this week.

 

[Melana]

This thread is lacking...I need another recipe to try this week.

What do you need a recipe for?

 

[thatjonguy]

What do you need a recipe for?

Chili. I want to try other member's recipes.

 

[PsiNyde]

1# ground red meat (venison, beef, whatever)
1/2# venison/stew beef cut into 1/2" cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic glove, minced
6c smoked tomatoes, chopped (about a half peck)
2 smoked poblano peppers, chopped
1/4c brown sugar
1tsp ground ginger
salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne and white pepper to taste

brown meat chunks in cast iron with a little bacon fat
add ground meat and brown
add onion and garlic and sauté entire mixture for 15m
add tomatoes and peppers, sauté for 15m, breaking up tomatoes as they soften
add spices and simmer for at least an hour

I prefer venison, but beef makes a fine alternative. I've been making this recipe for many years, and it keeps changing, depending on my mood, i.e. I used to use habañero peppers and a LOT of cumin for a real earthy flavor. Now I use poblano peppers. I also don't like beans in my chili, but the wife does. So I use black or dark kidneys occasionally.

 

[Barnesie]

1# ground red meat (venison, beef, whatever)
1/2# venison/stew beef cut into 1/2" cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic glove, minced
6c smoked tomatoes, chopped (about a half peck)
2 smoked poblano peppers, chopped
1/4c brown sugar
1tsp ground ginger
salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne and white pepper to taste

brown meat chunks in cast iron with a little bacon fat
add ground meat and brown
add onion and garlic and sauté entire mixture for 15m
add tomatoes and peppers, sauté for 15m, breaking up tomatoes as they soften
add spices and simmer for at least an hour

I prefer venison, but beef makes a fine alternative. I've been making this recipe for many years, and it keeps changing, depending on my mood, i.e. I used to use habañero peppers and a LOT of cumin for a real earthy flavor. Now I use poblano peppers. I also don't like beans in my chili, but the wife does. So I use black or dark kidneys occasionally.

This sounds completely dead on to me. Dead on delicious. Go forth and make this.